36 Degrees
by PoisonComeUndone
Summary: Written for H/C Bingo at lj.  Prompt: Cuddling for warmth/snowed in.  Jack and Ianto rush off to deal with an alien in the countryside outside Cardiff in December, and run into a little bit of trouble.


For the purposes of this, I'm just pretending Children of Earth didn't happen. I mean I love it, I do, but…yeah. For this, and maybe for lots of other things in the future, I wanna write from a happy place where it just didn't happen. Except, they have Lois working for them now. Because I like her, and I'd like to think she would've found her way to them anyway.

So, this is a few months after when those things would've happened but didn't, and Gwen is pregnant. I guess about 5 months pregnant, since I really need to pick a time. Also, this takes place in December, so…yeah.

This fic hits a spot on my H/C Bingo Card…cuddling for warmth/snowed in. 3

Not crazy about the title, but what can you do? I blanked, lol Title comes for the Placebo song of the same name, ^^

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Most of the time, Ianto Jones didn't have anything bad to say about Wales. He'd grown up here, after all. He'd been born there, too, right in a hospital in Cardiff. Sure, he'd gotten away to London for a few years, because he was young and he needed the space and the distance and the _difference_, but the truth was, Wales was home, and he wouldn't have had it any other way. Or at least, so he usually thought.

At the moment, he was fairly sure he'd have given _anything_ to be from Florida. Or Brazil. Or _anywhere_, really, so long as it wasn't colder than this(and frankly, just then that didn't seem possible).

The day had started out so well, too. They'd woken up late after something like 3 hours sleep, and he'd managed to get Jack to go to the store with him for a few things before they headed out on their date. Well, it was at least _supposed_ to be a date. Christmas shopping, coffee...nice, normal outing for Cardiff this time of year, especially since it had started snowing the night before. Then the call had come through from Lois, trouble out from town, sounded like multiple deaths, they'd better get out there quick. She couldn't, as she was still dealing with containing and monitoring the unknown alien they'd taken in last night after catching it in an old woman's rubbish bin.

With the way Jack had been sheltering Gwen from active duty(and, rightly so, he had to agree), it had been down to them. They'd rushed out here, found three bodies and two live teenage boys cornered by something Jack had called a higrarren. It had more teeth than seemed physically possible, and long curving talons and apparently, a fear of water. He knew that only through experience, because he'd ended up distracting it so the boys could get away and had finally had to jump into the pond out back to escape. It hadn't followed him in and he'd come out the other side, safer but soaked to the bone. There was a change of clothes in the trunk of the SUV, but it was just jeans and a far too thin t-shirt, no jackets. He used to be meticulous about that sort of thing, keeping the car stocked, but he'd been systemically cleaning it recently and most everything that _should've_ gone in the trunk was instead on the floor of Jack's office. Really, this just wasn't a good time for an emergency.

The next two hours had been filled with attempts to get the boys to safety, during which Jack had emptied a full clip trying to get in a wounding shot. They'd gone back for more ammo, which had then led him to the SUV where he'd punctured all four tires with those ridiculous claws and really, Ianto was starting to think Jack should've just shot the damn thing in the head. If they could, at least. He was very fast. Another harrowing chase later and they'd ended up shutting it in the back room of an old rundown farmhouse with the door barricaded, listening to it scratch against the floor as they leaned there, breath puffing out in sharp clouds in the cold. The thing had gotten Jack across the chest on the way in, but it hadn't been that deep and the mark had healed fast. Now, he was pretty sure Jack couldn't even feel it anymore.

He kind of knew the feeling. Just then, he couldn't feel his fingers. He rubbed them together, tried to blow warm air across them even as his teeth chattered. Jack's arms tightened around him, attempting to hold him steady, and though he appreciated it it wasn't really helping all that much.

"She'll be here. Just as soon as she can get things stabilized, she'll be here."

"I know." His voice seemed to vibrate on the way out, far outside his conscious control. God, he was cold. He was sure he could feel his nose freezing, his fingers, the tips of his toes…

Jack's hands rubbed up and down his arms, steady and soothing, and Ianto shivered just a little harder when they slid all the way down to his hands and Jack linked their fingers together. He was cold himself, but compared to Ianto, Jack was warm. He wasn't sure if it was his healing capabilities or 51st century physiology or just Jack himself(despite that one seeming the least logical, it was that explanation Ianto secretly suspected the most), but there was still heat in Jack's touch. A little, at least. He tightened his grip on Jack's hands, holding him there, focusing on the way Jack rubbed his thumbs gently across his skin.

"You're freezing."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Sometimes, Jack was good at stating the obvious.

Jack let go, then, and Ianto made a soft sound of protest before Jack pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, quieting him. "Just wait. I'm not going anywhere, Ianto." There was rustling, jostling, and then Jack was draping something heavy around his shoulders, wrapping him in warmth. The coat. _Jack's_ coat.

He sat up a little straighter, ready to push it back off his shoulders. "Jack, no, you need-"

"Shh. I'm fine." Jack pulled it just a little closer around him, nudging at his arms until he gave in and lifted them up to slide into the sleeves. Really, he didn't want to protest anymore even if he should. It was still warm from Jack, and it smelled like him, and everything about it down to the scratch of the wool and the sleeves that were just a little too long on him made it too comforting to want to give up. If he was going to freeze to death, he was pretty sure he could stand to do it in this coat.

Jack's arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him back just a little closer until he rested all the way against his chest, Jack's lips brushing against his neck. "Is that better?"

He nodded, tucking his hands as far inside the sleeves as he could. "It's nice. Thank you."

"Anytime." He was still cold enough that the tremors hadn't quite subsided, and when he shivered again he tucked his arms over Jack's, shifting back into him. They were completely tangled together now, Ianto sitting between Jack's legs, cradled back against his chest, and honestly, if he could warm up enough to be less preoccupied about the cold, this would be _really_ nice.

He turned his head, burrowing his cold nose in against Jack's neck. "Next time, before we go running off to the country this time of year we're making sure the extra jackets are in the back of the SUV. And the heater."

"Thought we were supposed to _keep_ those things in the back of the SUV."

"Yes, well, everything needs a cleaning every now and then. I was going to go through it, only put back in the things we absolutely need, but the past few days have been a little busy." Not only with Torchwood, but with Jack. He came home with him nearly all the time now, and not that he was complaining, not in the slightest, but it _did_ take up some time that he otherwise might've spent staying late and going in early.

"I see. Boss been working you too hard?"

Even teasing there was a little bit of an edge to it, something like an invitation and he couldn't help but marvel at the way Jack could always do that. Where other people had to consciously try to be seductive, Jack Harkness had to make far more of an effort to not make everything sound like an invitation. Not that that was an effort he regularly bothered to make.

"He's a little exhausting, but I can't complain." He tipped his head up to kiss just over Jack's pulse, wanting to be sure that he didn't take him seriously. He had no complaints, honestly, and he hadn't for a long time. They were alright, it was working, and one of these days he might actually get up the courage to ask Jack to legitimately move in.

"You know what we need…" Jack untangled one arm, reached up to cup Ianto's cheek in his hand, turning his head for a kiss. It was slow and easy, and the feel of Jack's tongue against his was enough to spark heat in his chest, spreading to diffuse down through his limbs. By the time Jack pulled back far enough to draw a shaky breath, Ianto was pretty sure he wasn't shivering anymore. "…is a sleeping bag."

"…what?" Somewhere in Jack kissing him stupid in the middle of the sentence, he'd forgotten the first part. Jack smirked, eyes gleaming with self satisfaction.

"I don't think you're listening to me." Speaking, Jack's lips brushed against his, and they both pressed forward for another kiss. Jack was just a little slower to move back then, his hand sliding up a little higher to rub his thumb lightly across Ianto's lower lip. "I was saying that what we need is a sleeping bag. You know, they say the best way to get warm is-"

"There are a whole host of reasons I'm not having sex with you right now." Not the least of them the fact that, according to Jack, Lois would be here 'any minute'. All the same, none of those reasons stopped his heart from jerking erratically in his chest at the thought, suddenly a little more conscious of where he sat between Jack's legs.

"Hey, I'm just thinking about keeping you warm here. Perfectly honorable intentions."

"I doubt you've ever in your life had honorable intentions."

Jack chuckled, low and soft, and he smiled a little wider at the way Ianto's breath hitched when he nuzzled against him. "So these reasons?"

Ianto swallowed, having a little trouble focusing. It just wasn't fair, really. Jack's scent was thick in the air between them, the pheromones nearly overpowering the way they always were once Jack was even faintly pursing him. It was intoxicating, and he was fairly sure that whatever reservations he had wouldn't hold if Jack pushed even a little.

"Cold. Clothes. Lois. Alien behind the…" He swallowed again, his mouth going dry. God, Jack smelled wonderful. "Door. Behind the door." Somehow, he ended up kissing Jack again without quite realizing who even started it, though he was sure _he_ was the one who moaned when Jack pulled away.

"So you're sure we don't have a sleeping bag in the SUV?"

Of course, it _would_ come back around to that. "…no. It's in your office."

"Hm." Jack settled back and rested his head against the door, his grip shifting to keep Ianto close. "Sounds nice. The warmth, I mean."

Right. Of course it did. Insufferable tease. Of course, if he said that, Jack would have a million ready retorts. He shut his eyes, sinking down just a little farther, enveloped by Jack's coat and Jack's embrace. The cold seemed to have gotten a little more bearable, and he had actually almost drifted off when he felt it, the slightest tremor in Jack's arms that he almost didn't catch.

He blinked, swimming somewhere between conscious and dozing.

"Jack? Are you…? I thought-"

"I'm fine, Ianto. I've been in much worse cold than this." That didn't exactly sound comforting or convincing, and he was just trying to wake all the way up to take the coat off when he felt Jack shake his head, his grip tightening to effectively pin Ianto's arms in place. "Don't. Just go to sleep. I'm fine."

Quite a bit of him still felt wet and shockingly cold, including his hair, and he was already so tired and so relieved for even the tiniest hint of warmth that really, it was a wonder he hadn't fallen asleep the minute Jack wrapped the coat around him.

Later, after Lois had come and they were back in a working car, Jack took his hand and pressed his fingers against the dashboard heater. Separate from the cold of the air outside Jack's fingers felt impossibly icy, almost frozen, and he realized with a sickening jolt that no, over time, Jack's regenerating capabilities hadn't exactly kept him quite warm. Just alive.

"…Jack, I-"

"Don't. Like I told you…" Jack shook his hands, presumably against pins and needles, but he was already smiling, rolling his neck before flexing his fingers again. "See? Good as new."

And they were, they were perfect, warm and natural, but all the same…there was something about Jack sacrificing for him that still made something get under his skin, wriggly and hard to pin down but biting at him all the same. He just wasn't worth it.

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End file.
